OFF (*was: neurology)

[Bradley M. Snook]

I agree with Ed. Strings generally aim for just sounding intervals. As Ed
pointed out, strings have the advantage of using interval size to color
dissonant tension. The comment about everything changing when piano and
string quartet merge is absolutely correct (I have so many horror stories of
piano-string rehearsals). But this really depends on the quartet because
there are two "schools of thought" on resolving piano-string issues with
intonation.

Susan, string players do not melodically temper intervallic movement. You
may feel that way for a completely different reason than you think.
Sufficient psychoacoustical research has been conducted to show that
musicians do not have sufficient ability to melodically place a succession
of notes. String players generally place notes based on open-string
sympathetic vibration: intervals are tempered in such a way to make the
other three strings sympathetically vibrate. This makes the instrument
"ring" and have an "open" sound. I'm sure that at some point in your cello
career someone told you to "check it with the open string?"

Don, the goal of chords and double stops are ALWAYS to be as just as
possible (unless they are being colored for a specific purpose). Your
example is a very good one, but the B is not checked against the open-E in
this situation; the B is positioned against the fingered G to form a just
3rd. Checking the B against the open-E will make the first finger very high.
HOWEVER . . . the chord E(open-E), B (A-string) and G (D-string) is
completely different! The B is tuned against the open-E, and the G is tuned
against the B (NOT the open-G string, which is normally the case).
Sympathetically vibrating open-strings are a very good thing, but the notes
that are actually sounding must be in tune first!

Just so everyone understands where I am coming from, my current degrees are
in violin performance. And believe me, I deal with these issues way too
much.

Bradley M. Snook